Smart Question...

dave oc

This might sound stupid and probaly is just yes or no but smart are going live in area next week so i just want to be clear about this, have they sorted out the crap about port forwarding( so keep my number)?

Sponge Bob

no

thirdmantackle

Smart ain't so smart - believe me.

They are struggling to sign up customers, despite all the fancy advertising

Sponge Bob

Eircom REFUSE to port the existing number to Smart or to Magnet too.

dub45

thirdmantackle wrote:

Smart ain't so smart - believe me.

They are struggling to sign up customers, despite all the fancy advertising

Care to elaborate?

I'm a happy Smart customer - and while no company is perfect they have been fine so far and each month I save money over what I was paying before.

thirdmantackle

Read in an article recently that Smart barely have 3% of the Irish market

Narcom

I'd have to agree with Dub45 - I've been with Smart since April and they have been excellent.

If your exchange is live, then connecting is fine, any problems were genuinely due to Eircom.

Their service on a support level is great, their staff have rung me late at night or as directed to follow up on queries etc.

dub45

thirdmantackle wrote:

Read in an article recently that Smart barely have 3% of the Irish market

I dont know what that has to do with your comment?

Criticising a company or business on here should be based on a definite criticism. Businesses can be damaged by public comment so it should be responsible. You have no experience of them as a company - the size of their market share is irrelevant to their performance towards their customers. In fact it is probably arguable that Companies will be more customer friendly while they are trying to grow.

Smart are in relatively few exchanges so far and as pointed out earlier in the thread Eircom are doing their best to slow down their progress.

rabbitinlights

Narcom wrote:

If your exchange is live, then connecting is fine, any problems were genuinely due to Eircom.

How long after eircom ceased your broadband did Smart connect you?

Eircom ceased my broadband last wednesday and smart now have my CAF and DD forms. I wonder how long it will take? Shantalla Exchange in Galway.

Sean

dub45

rabbitinlights wrote:

How long after eircom ceased your broadband did Smart connect you?

Eircom ceased my broadband last wednesday and smart now have my CAF and DD forms. I wonder how long it will take? Shantalla Exchange in Galway.

Sean

Once Smart have all our details (incl hopefully your "cease" number and your Eircom account number it should only be a matter of days.

My experience of the changeover was a nightmare (nothing to do with Smart)
because my line rental and bb was with UTV anything that could go wrong (and even more!!!:eek: ) did go wrong.

paulm17781

dub45 wrote:

My experience of the changeover was a nightmare (nothing to do with Smart)
because my line rental and bb was with UTV anything that could go wrong (and even more!!!:eek: ) did go wrong.

Eircon did the same to me when I ported my number to Blueface. I was with BT and it was a nightmare. Then Eircon wonder why people hate them. It's all the more satisfying knowing I don't pay them a penny anymore.

Narcom

rabbitinlights wrote:

How long after eircom ceased your broadband did Smart connect you?

Eircom ceased my broadband last wednesday and smart now have my CAF and DD forms. I wonder how long it will take? Shantalla Exchange in Galway.

Sean

Fortunately for me I was using IBB so there was no DSL contract to cancel, just the eircom phone service. The phone line was only disabled for a few minutes/hour one morning as they made the changes in the exchange.

But by all accounts, it can take a long time for Eircom to release the customer. I was told 10 working days by Smart and on the ninth or tenth day I was switched over.

thirdmantackle

Smart seem to be plastering tv, radio and print with advertising - but yet are they making any inroads?

Smart's advertising is very misleading

They say that the first 100,000 customers will get free line rental - but that only applies to places where they have taken over the local exchange.

Smart is non existant up this end of the country - ie the West

paulm17781

thirdmantackle wrote:

Smart seem to be plastering tv, radio and print with advertising - but yet are they making any inroads?

Not really, that is Eircon's fault though not Smart's. Have a look at some of the threads on it around here.

thirdmantackle wrote:

They say that the first 100,000 customers will get free line rental - but that only applies to places where they have taken over the local exchange.

How else would they do? Pay your line rental for you and hope it is a good business model or offer this service to customers where they provide services and can actually make a profit from it.

I can't believe none of the Swedish telcos will give me Fibre to the Home. Just cause I live in a country where they don't offer services. Clearly they are all bad companies. :rolleyes:

thirdmantackle

why don't they give me Broadband using the Eircom lines - and cut their profits by giving a well priced product that everyone in the country can avail of??

Doesn't make sense to me!

I'm not prepared to wait until Smart Telecom have enough people interested in an area to take over an exchange and provide 'free' line rental to their 1st 100,000 customers. We might be old and grey by the time that happens

Until that miracle happens, who is the best broadband option for me, without me having to take the voice services too??

paulm17781

thirdmantackle wrote:

why don't they give me Broadband using the Eircom lines - and cut their profits by giving a well priced product that everyone in the country can avail of??

Because they'd lose money.

Narcom

thirdmantackle wrote:

why don't they give me Broadband using the Eircom lines - and cut their profits by giving a well priced product that everyone in the country can avail of??

Doesn't make sense to me!

I'm not prepared to wait until Smart Telecom have enough people interested in an area to take over an exchange and provide 'free' line rental to their 1st 100,000 customers. We might be old and grey by the time that happens

Until that miracle happens, who is the best broadband option for me, without me having to take the voice services too??

Without wanting to get drawn into this - Smart are not reselling Eircom DSL, they are putting their own equipment in the exchanges. They will only do this if they can get fibre near to the physical exhange in question and there is a demand for it, otherwise they don't provide a service in that location. If you just want someone to resell you DSL then go with a reseller.

I don't mean to sound like I'm defending Smart. Just check Garfields many posts regarding which exchanges are live and which aren't and why.

To answer your question - very few providers offer broadband without voice as they predominantly require a phone line - there are a few exceptions.

Generally if you don't want voice then your options are :
# NTL - limited locations and only within the major suburbs of their franchise areas (Chorus do something in patches), There is a great local service in Dungarvan.
# Wireless broadband - a few service providers but limited geographic spread outside of Dublin/Cork/Limerick metropolitan areas. I've used two generations of the Irish Broadband 'Breeze' service and it was largely a shambles and would not recommend it at present, perhaps other wireless isps are better
# Satellite - very expensive as a rule with lousy response times (again as a rule) and pretty much a last option
# Community broadband / WISP projects which offer a patchwork of connectivity in places.

This info is better summarised, explained and debated in the sticky's and some of the other threads - I think search is back working again, do a trawl of the forums etc.

thirdmantackle

thanks for that info

Do you not think that Smart's advertising is very misleading though?

No point saying the first 100,000 customers will get free line rental if 80% of the country cannot avail of the service...

dub45

thirdmantackle wrote:

thanks for that info

Do you not think that Smart's advertising is very misleading though?

No point saying the first 100,000 customers will get free line rental if 80% of the country cannot avail of the service...

How exactly is that misleading? the first 100,000 will get free line rental. Unfortunately for Smart it will take a long time if ever but it is not misleading and for those of us who can get it it is an excellent offer and maybe makes bb affordable too for lots of people who otherwise could not get it so they deserve lots of credit for an imaginative offer. Customers of other isps also owe Smart in that they cerainly contributed to the bump in speeds latterly.

All the other isps advertise broadband - are their offers misleading for those who for various reasons eg distance from the exchange, line quality etc cannot get bb?